The torrential rain and flooding closed many expressways, stretching out the commute to two or three hours.

Tinley Park resident Tracy Gerber said her normal 45-minute commute up I-57 from the south suburb took twice as long because of high water and stop-and-go traffic.

"I tried to leave early today and I'm still late," said Gerber, rushing to her job at Northwestern from a Streeterville public parking garage. "I've now got to run to work."

Crestwood resident Tom Vicich said his commute wasn't pretty. "Even getting to the expressway took way longer this morning -- maybe 25 minutes longer to the Dan Ryan," Vicich said.

As the rush hour began, the Edens Expressway was closed between Foster and Touhy avenues and between Winnetka and Willow roads, and the Eisenhower Expressway was shut down in both directions between North Avenue and York Road and westbound at Mannheim Road. The southbound Kennedy Expressway was closed at Addison Street.

Some commuters who learned of the closures planned in advance and had an easier ride.

Ed Nichols, of Niles, said he heard of highway closures up north near Des Plaines so he decided to wait and jump on the Kennedy Expressway at Harlem Avenue.

"My commute that normally takes me an hour took 20 minutes today," Nichols said. "I suspect if you could get to the expressway where it was open, it was faster than normal. It was awesome."

But the reverse along the Edens Expressway didn't look so pleasant, Nichols said.

For Chicago commuters driving to their downtown jobs, highways were wide open for the most part Wednesday morning thanks to closures in the suburbs.

Portage Park resident Juliet Azimi said getting to the Kennedy on-ramp was the hardest part of her commute.

"There were pools of water under the viaducts and on the ramps, but other than that it wasn't bad" Azimi said. "It only took me about 15 minutes longer than normal."

Brian Golinvaux said his drive from his Bucktown to Streeterville was a breeze today. But flooding in the alleyway at his condo building made for a stressful morning nonetheless.

Golinvaux said a drain in between buildings wasn't working properly and causing a river of standing water in front of one of his doors. Getting outside to walk his dog Brody was an adventure this morning, he said.

"I've been on the phone with plumbers all morning," Golinvaux said. "They're all busy today. Hopefully I'll get one by the afternoon."

Lombard resident Angiela Zielinski, 48, normally takes the Eisenhower Expressway to her job on the North Side of the city -- but a warning about highway closures prompted her to take the Metra instead on Wednesday morning.

"I really had no other choice but to take the train in today," Zielinski said. "It was my only option."

Unfortunately, Zielinski said, the railway had its own share of problems and delays. Her 8:18 a.m. train out of Lombard didn't leave until 9 a.m. and experienced more delays once it left the station.

"Communication at the station was rather sparse and it was hard to hear," Zielinski said. "Luckily my husband is a regular train commuter and got an email saying my train would be delayed."

Zielinski said her train stopped twice along the tracks coming into the city, causing another 40 minutes delay. Her train didn't arrive until about 10 a.m., she said.

But while sitting on the tracks, Zielinski said she and other commuters marveled at the flooding outside.

"It was shocking to see how much water had accumulated," Zielinksi said. "It really has been a rough week for everyone."

Matt Downs, 52, said his Metra train left the Elmhurst station on schedule but sat on the tracks near Halsted Street for more than an hour because of a "switching issue."

Downs, who said he takes the train five days a week for work, said passengers in his car were fairly patient during the hour and a half commute -- a ride three times longer than the normal 30 minutes.

"They really couldn't update us on time while we were sitting there," Downs said.

Cindy Fearn, 61, said she's used to a longer commute. Fearn, a Roscoe, Ill. resident drives 30 minutes to the Harvard train station and takes an hour and 20 minute train to the city. Then she takes a second train to Rogers Park, where she's a nurse practitioner.

But Wednesday's trip was a new breed of monstrous commute for Fearn due to power problems along the Northwest line.

"We were stopped at Clybourn for more than an hour, making the trip (into Ogilvie) two and a half hours," Fearn said.

While stuck at Clybourn, Fearn said some riders got off the train in an attempt to find cabs or take a bus -- but neither could be found near the station this morning. Most ended up walking back to the train, soaked.

"Some of us were laughing - we saw a guy with what looked like a box of Dunkin Donuts," Fearn said. "We joked that that's what would keep us all going if we were stuck for longer. We kept spirits up."

When her delayed train arrived at Ogilvie this morning, Fearn attempted to get a cab to take her up north but all cab drivers she tried turned her away, saying the roads were too messy to go that far.

So, Fearn said, she'll wait two hours for the next scheduled train up north."

"This sucked," Fearn said with a laugh.

Lake in the Hills resident Jeff Boberg, 41, said his Metra train left the Cary station on time but was delayed more than hour coming into the city this morning.

"They told us signals were out," Boberg said. "The commute took more than two hours."

While he waited for a cab outside Ogilvie this morning, Boberg said most commuters were understanding about the rain delay.